JP5299326B2 - Culture vessel - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a culture vessel that prevents a culture object from being mixed and improves the work efficiency in the work of culturing biological cells, biological tissue pieces, microorganisms, and the like.

  Culture of living cells and the like is performed by using a culture container such as a petri dish in which a culture object is accommodated, and the culture container is placed in a chamber controlled by a predetermined temperature and atmospheric gas, generally called a so-called incubator. Is called. Then, the culture vessel is taken out from the incubator as appropriate, and observation of the culture object using an optical microscope or inspection / recording of the culture state is performed. In addition, when the culture is grown, the work is called “transplanting” so that the culture is again in a new concentration so that the culture becomes an appropriate concentration. There is work such as transportation or storage for.

  Conventionally, for example, a container body having a highly light-transmitting flat bottom and a cylindrical side part and a lid that covers the body from above is used as the culture container. Here, the lid body has a structure in which a gap is formed so as not to seal the container body in the closed state, and the culture medium in the container body passes through the gap to the atmospheric gas in the incubator. As such a culture container, there are a container called a microplate in which a plurality of surrounding parts are arranged in a matrix, for example, a multiwell plate, or the like. Hereinafter, such a culture container is referred to as a conventional cell culture container.

  By the way, in culturing target cells in reproductive medicine or regenerative medicine, it is indispensable to eliminate any difference in the culture object in the work. Until now, in university and corporate laboratories, for example, writing on the upper surface (top surface of the lid) of cell culture vessels using magic ink etc., such as letters and numbers, etc. The identification symbol display by attaching a label is often used. However, in this case, if a plurality of culture vessels are handled, there is a risk that the lid may be combined with another body that is not the correct combination during the work, and the displayed content and the inside of the body will be different. Mistakes occur. On the other hand, in order to prevent this from happening, there are cases where the above-mentioned identification is displayed on both the lid top surface and the main body side wall outer surface, or only the main body side wall outer surface. The outside surface of the unit is usually in the closed state, and the area of about 1/2 to 2/3 is covered with the lid, so the area that can be identified and displayed is narrow. Etc., and the visual recognition of the display contents were difficult. In addition, the increase in the number increases the labor and time for writing, and the workability decreases.

  Thus, a culture container has been proposed that has a structure in which a side portion of the container body is formed into a flat shape and a part thereof is formed flat and an identification code can be displayed in the region (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this example, as the identification code, a special display code such as a so-called bar code or a code using a combination of cross-shaped grids is used. Alternatively, recently, it has been disclosed that an IC tag including an antenna, a transceiver, a CPU, a memory, a power source, and the like is attached to the side of a culture vessel (for example, see Patent Document 2).

  Certainly, the culture vessel to which the identification code or IC tag is attached can reduce the area required for the attachment, and is useful for automating the work management in the established culture. However, in these cases, the identification code or IC tag must be identified through a dedicated reader, and the reading direction may be limited to one. For example, even if it is possible to read the identification code of the culture vessel placed in the incubator under the culture of the culture object in the horizontal direction, under the operation such as observation of the medium using an optical microscope, Identification in the upward direction (vertical direction) such as an identification code becomes difficult. Such inconvenience also occurs in the work such as transportation or storage of the other culture vessels described above, and when the culture work is not fixed, the work is not flexible and the usability is deteriorated. Reduce efficiency.

  In addition, a conventional cell culture vessel has been proposed in which an identification symbol consisting of letters and numbers is attached to the bottom or side of the main body of the culture vessel (see, for example, Patent Document 3). However, when an identification symbol is attached to the bottom of the container body, in the visual observation or inspection work using the optical microscope, the projection of visible light on the culture object is hindered by the identification symbol, which hinders the grasp of the culture state. A malfunction occurs. In addition, when an identification symbol is attached to the side portion of the cylindrical container main body, the symbol to be attached is provided because the lid body covers a 1/2 to 2/3 region of the main body side portion when the main body is closed. It is difficult to visually recognize the identification symbol because it is necessary to reduce the size of.

  In addition, in the conventional cell culture container in the past, in handling the closed culture container, in order to prevent the contents from spilling and to prevent contamination by germs, etc. Attention has been required, and there has been a limit to improving the work efficiency. This is because, for example, in an operation involving the movement of the culture container, it is necessary to grasp and handle both the lid body on which the lid is originally formed and the container body.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-34999 JP 2006-4299 A Registered Utility Model No. 3087875 gazette

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a culture container that can easily prevent a culture object from being mixed in the culture container and can be easily handled in the culture operation. To do. And the working efficiency in culture | cultivation work is improved.

  In order to achieve the above object, a culture container according to the present invention is a culture container for containing a culture object, and a container body whose bottom is flat and whose side is cylindrical and is open upward. A lid that closes the container body from above, a flat laterally extending portion that extends from the side of the container body and extends laterally with respect to the container body, and a vertical direction with respect to the container body And a discriminating display body having a plate-like longitudinally extending portion extending in the direction, and an identification symbol can be attached to the laterally extending portion and the longitudinally extending portion.

  Alternatively, the culture container according to the present invention is a culture container for storing a culture object, and has a container body whose bottom is a flat plate and whose side is cylindrical and opened upward, and the container body A lid that closes from above, a first plane extending from the side of the container main body, a second plane extending to the upper part connected to the first plane, and the second plane An identification display body having a fifth plane portion that extends in a diagonally downward direction and is connected to the portion, and an identification symbol that is visible from a lateral direction and an upper direction with respect to the container body is in the fifth plane portion It comes to be attached.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, in the culture container, it is possible to easily prevent the culture object from being mixed, and in the culture operation, by handling with the identification display body of the culture container, both the lid body and the container body are gripped. This eliminates the need for handling and facilitates operation. And the working efficiency in culture improves.

It is a figure which shows an example of the culture container concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention under a closed state, (a) is a top view, (b) is XX arrow sectional drawing of (a). is there. It is sectional drawing which shows the other examples of the culture container concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows another example of the culture container concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial top view which shows another example of the culture container concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the culture container concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention under a closed state, (a) is a top view, (b) is a YY arrow sectional drawing of (a). is there. It is a front view which shows the state which piled up the culture container concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention in multiple numbers.

  Several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, parts that are the same or similar to each other are denoted by common reference numerals, and a duplicate description is partially omitted. However, the drawings are schematic and ratios of dimensions and the like are different from actual ones.

(First embodiment)
A culture vessel according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 1 is a figure which shows an example of the culture container concerning this embodiment under a closed state, (a) is the top view, (b) is the XX arrow view of (a). It is sectional drawing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the culture container 10 has a structure in which an identification display body capable of representing an identification symbol is attached to a normal cell culture petri dish, and the container body 11, the lid body 12, and the identification display body 13 are provided. It is prepared for.

  The container body 11 is composed of a bottomed cylindrical member that opens upward, and the flat bottom portion 11a and the cylindrical side portion 11b are integrally formed of a synthetic resin having excellent translucency, such as polystyrene. ing. Here, to-be-cultured objects (not shown) such as cells are accommodated on the inner bottom surface 111a of the bottom part 11a together with, for example, a liquid medium. Further, the outer bottom surface 112a of the bottom portion 11a has a concave shape with an annular pedestal 112b, and as will be described in detail in the second embodiment, the annular ridge 121b is provided on the shoulder of the lid body 12 to form a concave shape. An annular platform 112b is fitted inside the lid top surface 121a.

  The lid 12 has an annular shape formed so as to be fitted to a lid top portion 12a made of a substantially disk-like member that detachably covers the opening of the container body 11 and a step 111b of the container body 11. And a lid side wall portion 12b. Here, for example, three protrusions 12c are formed on the lower surface of the lid top 12a. And this projection part 12c contact | abuts to the front end surface 112b of the container main body 11, a clearance gap is produced, and the container main body 11 is not sealed in a closed state. In this way, the inside of the container main body 11 in the closed state has a structure that vents the atmospheric gas in the incubator when the container is placed in the incubator.

  The identification display body 13 is made of a plate-like member having a required plate thickness (wall thickness) that extends from the side portion 11b of the container body 11 as a base portion. Here, a first flat surface portion 13a having the same width as the outer diameter of the main body 11 with respect to the container main body 11 and extending in the horizontal direction, and a second flat surface extending and bending upward in connection with the first flat surface portion 13a. A portion 13b is formed. Then, a third flat surface portion 13c that is connected to the second flat surface portion 13b and bent again in the lateral direction, and a fourth flat surface portion 13d that is connected to the third flat surface portion 13c and bent downward and extended are formed. These flat portions are formed in an integral structure. The position of the side part 11b of the container main body 11 which becomes the base part of the identification display body 13 is appropriately set. Such a structure is easily produced by molding a synthetic resin such as polystyrene.

  In FIG. 1, the third plane portion 13 c corresponds to a laterally extending portion of the identification display body 13. This laterally extending portion extends substantially laterally with respect to the surface (inner bottom surface 111a or outer bottom surface 112a) of the bottom portion 11a of the container body 11 having a flat plate shape. On the other hand, the 1st plane part 13a may incline and extend with respect to the bottom part 11a surface. The fourth flat surface portion 13 d corresponds to a longitudinally extending portion of the identification display body 13. This longitudinally extending portion only needs to be substantially perpendicular to the bottom 11a surface of the container body 11, and may extend in the vertical direction with a slight inclination with respect to the bottom 11a surface.

  Here, the same identification symbol 14 is attached to the surfaces of the third plane portion 13 c and the fourth plane portion 13 d of the identification display body 13. In FIG. 1A, it is exemplified by ABC123. Thus, the identification symbol 14 includes letters, numbers, or a combination thereof for specifying the culture object. A specific figure such as the identification code described in the prior art may be provided together with these symbols. The identification symbol 14 can be written by various methods such as writing using a magic ink or the like, sticking a sticker, printing, laser marking, molding, or the like. Moreover, the width of the identification display body 13 is formed to be 1/2 to 1 times the outer diameter of the main body 11 with respect to the container main body 11, and the identification symbol 14 is written in a size that can be visually observed.

  In the identification display, it is only necessary that the identification symbol 14 written in the laterally extended portion is visible from the lateral direction with respect to the container body 11. Therefore, even when the third flat surface portion 13c is inclined slightly with respect to the bottom 11a surface of the container main body 11 and extends in the lateral direction, deviation from the right lateral direction (horizontal direction) can be allowed if the above conditions are satisfied. . On the other hand, the identification symbol 14 described in the longitudinally extending portion only needs to be visible from above with respect to the container body 11. For this reason, even when the fourth flat surface portion 13d extends in the vertical direction while being slightly inclined with respect to the bottom portion 11a surface of the container main body 11 as described above, deviation from the vertical direction can be allowed if the above conditions are satisfied.

  The container body 11, the lid body 12, and the identification display body 13 described above may use a glass material, but it is preferable to use a resin in view of weight reduction, ease of molding, and the like. Examples of such a resin include an acrylic resin, a polycarbonate resin, and a resin having an alicyclic structure in addition to polystyrene. Then, it is preferable to use a synthetic resin that can satisfactorily realize optical properties such as mechanical strength, flatness, uniformity, light transmittance, low birefringence, and low autofluorescence required for the culture vessel 10. However, the identification display body 13 may be a non-translucent resin.

  And the container main body 11 and the identification display body 13 are integrally molded, for example with a synthetic resin as mentioned above. Alternatively, the identification display body 13 is joined to the side part 11b of the container body 11 via an adhesive after being molded separately. Here, the member which comprises the container main body 11, the cover part 12, or the identification display body 13 becomes appropriate thickness according to those magnitude | sizes. 1A shows the case where the width of the plate-like member of the identification display body 13 is the same as the outer diameter of the side part 11b of the container body 11, the dimension is smaller than the outer diameter of the side part 11b. The outer diameter may be ½ or more. The width of the identification display body greatly affects the holding of the culture vessel. The range of the above dimensions is desirable from the viewpoint of ease of handling in aseptic operation in a clean bench, two-way holding of an XY stage for microscopic observation, and the like. Here, the said horizontal width is a surface orthogonal to the extending direction from the container main body 11 of the identification display body 13, ie, the horizontal direction length of the 4th plane part 13d shown, for example in FIG.

  Next, another example of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the culture container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the culture container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing still another example of the culture container according to the present embodiment. Here, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are cross-sectional views of the culture container shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the difference from the structure of the culture vessel 10 described in FIG. 1 will be mainly described.

  In the other example shown in FIG. 2, the fourth flat portion 13d is not formed as compared with FIG. In this case, the identification symbol 14 of the identification display body 13 is attached to each surface of the second plane portion 13b and the third plane portion 13c.

  In another example shown in FIG. 3, the fourth plane portion 13d is not formed as compared with FIG. And the 5th plane part 13e corresponding to the 3rd plane part 13c inclines and extends diagonally downward. In this case, the identification symbol 14 is attached only to the surface of the fifth flat portion 13e. Here, the inclination angle of the fifth flat surface portion 13e is set in accordance with the culture work environment so that the identification symbol of the culture vessel can be read in the horizontal direction and read from above.

  In still another example shown in FIG. 4, the planar shape of the third planar portion 13 c is changed from a strip-like elongated rectangle to a bent rectangle as compared with FIG. 1. Otherwise, the culture container has almost the same structure. However, the surface of the second plane portion 13b and the surface of the fourth plane portion 13d are bent along the bent rectangular edge of the third plane portion 13c. In this case, the identification symbol 14 can easily add a classification symbol or the like to each of the bent rectangular areas, and facilitates visual recognition by classification. In AB123CD shown as an example in FIG. 4, the classification symbol AB or CD is easily recognized.

  In addition, for example, in the identification display body 13 having the structure shown in FIG. 2, the third plane portion 13c is removed, and the identification display body 13 includes a first plane portion 13a and a second plane portion 13b. In this case, the identification symbol 14 is attached to each surface of the first plane portion 13a and the second plane portion 13b.

  In addition, you may make it attach the identification symbol 14 mentioned above to the back surface side in addition to the surface in the plate-shaped plane part corresponding to a horizontal direction extension part and a vertical direction extension part. However, in this case, the identification display body 13 is made of a translucent member.

  In the culture container of this embodiment, an identification display body to which an identification symbol is attached is attached with the side portion of the container body as a base. Here, the said identification symbol is attached so that it can visually recognize from the horizontal direction and upper direction of a container main body. For this reason, it is easy to prevent the culture object from being mixed in the culture operation, and for example, the lateral reading of the identification symbol of the culture vessel under the culture operation placed in the incubator, and the optical of the medium It is possible to read in the upward direction while observing with a microscope or inspecting and recording the culture state.

  High convenience in the above operation can be obtained in the same manner in operations such as holding, transporting or storing other culture vessels. In addition, it is clear that the identification symbol does not hinder the observation of the culture state in the process work such as observation using the optical microscope.

  In addition, it is not necessary to grip both the lid formed so that the lid can be freely moved and the container body when moving the culture container, and the culture container is transported through manual or automatic gripping of the identification display body. become able to. For this reason, it is not necessary to pay close attention to the handling of the closed culture vessel, and the working efficiency is improved. This effect occurs in all process operations such as culture work, work such as observation using an optical microscope, transport work or storage work.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a culture vessel according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 5 is a figure which shows an example of the culture container concerning this embodiment under a closed state, (a) is a top view, (b) is a YY arrow sectional drawing of (a). It is. In this embodiment, the engagement portion 15 is formed at a required position of the third flat surface portion 13c described in FIG. This point is mainly different from the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the culture container 20 includes a container body 11, a lid body 12, and an identification display body 13 in the same manner as described in the first embodiment. Here, the container main body 11 and the lid body 12 have substantially the same structure as in the first embodiment.

  The identification display body 13 is composed of, for example, a plate-shaped member having an integral structure, and extends in a lateral direction with respect to the container body 11, a second planar part 13 b that is bent upward and extends, and again in the lateral direction. A bent third plane part 13c and a fourth plane part 13d bent and extended downward are provided. Here, the lateral width of the plate-like member and the position of the side portion 11b of the container body 11 to which the identification display body 13 is fixed are appropriately set. The side part 11b has a tapered shape that is slightly reduced in diameter in the direction of the bottom part 11a. In FIG. 5A, the width of the identification display body 13 is smaller than the outermost diameter of the side portion 11b of the container body 11, but it may be the same.

  And as shown in FIG. 5, the engaging part 15 is formed as two protrusions in the edge of the surface of the 3rd plane part 13c which made the rectangular shape of strip shape, for example. The engaging portion 15 may be made of the same material as or different from the third flat surface portion 13c. Here, the 3rd plane part 13c and the engaging part 15 are integrally molded, for example with the synthetic resin mentioned above. Or after producing each separately, the engaging part 15 is joined to the surface of the 3rd plane part 13c via an adhesive agent.

  Although the details will be described later, the engaging portion 15 is configured to hold the upper and lower culture vessels 20 to each other and prevent their positional shift when the culture vessels are stacked vertically. For this reason, the vertical width in the engaging portion 15 is smaller than the separation width between the second plane portion 13b and the fourth plane portion 13d, and the upper and lower culture vessels 20 are in the second plane portion 13b and the fourth plane portion. 13d and the engaging part 15 are engaged with each other. Here, the vertical width is the length in the direction in which the identification display body 13 extends from the container body 11.

  And the same identification symbol 14 is attached to the surface of the 3rd plane part 13c of the said identification display body 13, and the 4th plane part 13d. For example, the identification symbol 14 of ABC123 is expressed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  Next, an example in which the culture containers 20 are stacked vertically will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which a plurality of culture vessels 20 according to the present embodiment are vertically stacked. The figure shows an example in which four culture vessels 20 are stacked vertically. That is, the culture vessels 20 labeled with ABCs 123 to 126 as the identification symbols 14 are stacked in four stages on each fourth plane portion 13d.

  In this vertical stacking, in the upper and lower culture containers 20, the concave lid top part 12 a of one lid part 12 is fitted inside the concave bottom part 11 a of the other container body 11. However, in the case of the container main body 11 or the lid body 12 whose surfaces are made to be highly smooth, the upper and lower culture containers 20 are in a sliding state and cannot prevent rotational movement between them. The engaging part 15 mentioned above has a function which suppresses this rotation. In this way, the upper and lower culture vessels 20 are held together and can be stacked stably.

  The culture containers are stacked vertically, for example, in an operation such as placement in an incubator, observation using an optical microscope, or transportation or storage for moving the culture container.

  The engaging portion 15 can be similarly applied to the case of the other example of the culture container described in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, and is attached to both edges of the surface of the third flat surface portion 13c.

  Even when the bottom portion 11a of the container body 11 described in the culture vessel 20 and the lid top portion 12a of the lid portion 12 are not fitted, the engaging portion 15 described in the above embodiment is provided in the vertical direction of the culture vessel. It has the function of holding the upper and lower culture vessels in stacking. And it enables stabilization of the vertical stacking of a plurality of culture vessels.

  In the second embodiment, the same operational effects as described in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, it becomes possible to safely stack culture vessels in various culture operations, and it is possible to greatly improve the work efficiency.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments do not limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes in specific embodiments without departing from the technical idea and technical scope of the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the culture container has a structure in which an identification display body capable of indicating an identification symbol is attached to a normal cell culture dish is described. However, a culture dish, a liquid such as a microplate, or a flat plate medium Any container can be used.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,20 ... Culture container, 11 ... Container body, 11a ... Bottom, 111a ... Inner bottom, 112a ... Outer bottom, 11b ... Side, 111b ... Step, 112b ... Tip surface, 12 ... Lid, 12a ... Top of lid , 121a ... top surface of the lid, 12b ... side wall portion of the lid, 12c ... projection, 13 ... identification display body, 13a ... first plane portion, 13b ... second plane portion, 13c ... third plane portion, 13d ... fourth plane Part, 13e ... 5th plane part, 14 ... identification symbol, 15 ... engagement part

Claims (7)

A culture container for containing a culture object,
A container body whose bottom is flat and whose side is cylindrical and open upward;
A lid for closing the container body from above;
An identification display body comprising a flat plate-like laterally extending portion extending from a side portion of the container main body and extending laterally with respect to the container main body, and a flat plate-like vertical extending portion extending vertically with respect to the container main body; Have
An identification container can be attached to the laterally extending portion and the longitudinally extending portion.   The identification display body includes a first plane portion extending from a side portion of the container body, a second plane portion extending to the upper portion connected to the first plane portion, and a side extending to the second plane portion. It comprises a third flat portion extending in the direction, the second flat portion constituting the longitudinally extending portion, and the third flat portion constituting the laterally extending portion. The culture container according to claim 1.   The culture according to claim 2, wherein a fourth plane part extending downward from the third plane part is formed, and the fourth plane part constitutes the longitudinally extending part. container.   The culture container according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the planar shape of the third planar portion is a rectangular rectangle or a bent rectangle.   A protrusion is formed at the edge of the third flat portion so that when the plurality of culture containers are stacked vertically, the identification display bodies of the upper and lower culture containers are engaged with each other via the protrusion. The culture container according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the culture container is formed. A culture container for containing a culture object,
A container body whose bottom is flat and whose side is cylindrical and open upward;
A lid for closing the container body from above;
A first flat portion extending from a side portion of the container body, a flat plate-like second flat portion extending to the upper portion connected to the first flat portion, and obliquely downward connected to the second flat portion. And an identification display body having a fifth plane portion to be stretched,
A culture vessel characterized in that an identification symbol visually recognized from a lateral direction and an upward direction with respect to the vessel main body is attached to the fifth plane portion. The culture container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the container body and the identification display body are made of resin and are integrally formed.

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